Pluto's Present
by Heavenly Pearl
Summary: Pluto receives the best Christmas present ever.


Pluto's Present

It was Christmastime once again in Crystal Tokyo.

From her post at the Gates of Time, Pluto watched the celebration at the palace with feigned disinterest. There was no point in wishing she could join the others for the annual Christmas Eve ball, as she was forbidden by the second taboo to leave the Gates even for a couple of hours, but that didn't stop her from spying on them, telling herself that it was her duty to make sure nothing happened on the most magical of nights.

That year's ball had to be the biggest one yet. Pine trees the size of giants were decorated with bright lights and pretty red-and-green decorations, and matching wreaths hung from the walls, each connected to the others by golden ribbon. A long banquet table, covered in a red silk tablecloth, had been set up along one wall, where Pluto saw Mercury and Jupiter, who had donned more festive apparel than their usual fuku, chatting and sampling the scrumptious food. Not too far away from them, an annoyed Mars -- looking quite stunning in a strapless scarlet number -- was busy trying to fight off the advances of several hopeful suitors, while Venus coquettishly danced her way through a handful of handsome partners, obviously enjoying the attention Mars so scorned.

Also among the couples dancing to the music provided by the small orchestra set up in the corner of the ballroom was Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion. Even after so many years of marriage, the two of them only had eyes for each other, barely paying attention to anything else around them as they waltzed in each other's arms. When the pair finally stopped underneath a sprig of mistletoe and Endymion bent down to kiss his wife on the lips, Pluto turned away, half out of embarrassment and half out of jealousy.

Why did she have to torture herself like this? Christmas always reminded Pluto of how truly alone she was. While couples expressed their love, families came together, and children anticipated the visit of a jolly old fat man in a red suit with a bag full of toys, Pluto didn't even have some one to say "Merry Christmas" to. Of course, the royal family would probably come for a brief visit the next day like they did every year and give her some present Pluto had no real use for -- last year, it had been a bottle of expensive perfume, as if there was anybody to care how she smelled at the Gates of Time -- but as much as she appreciated the thought, it was a poor substitute for the gift she really wanted: somebody to spend the holidays with.

Deciding she had enough wallowing in self-pity for the night, Pluto closed the gate that allowed her to see Crystal Tokyo and went inside Charon Castle, the only place she was allowed to go for a break from her post. She had put up a small artificial Christmas tree -- real trees were hard to come by in the Realm of Space-Time -- in the foyer, and as she passed by, Pluto plugged in the lights, sighing at how pathetic it looked with no gifts underneath. She wondered why she even bothered to decorate a tree every year. It wasn't as if there would be presents waiting for her when she came downstairs the next morning…

"Stop it, Pluto," she ordered herself aloud, shaking her head as she made her way upstairs.

After taking a long, relaxing bath and changing into a pair of flannel pajamas, Pluto went to bed, determined not to let the holidays get to her any longer. When she woke up Christmas morning, she would go back to her post and pretend that it was simply another day of the year.

No big deal.

However, a couple of hours after she had fallen asleep, Pluto was awakened by a strange sound coming from downstairs. It almost sounded like a door closing, but she knew that was impossible. She was the only one who lived in the castle. Jumping out of bed, Pluto grabbed her staff and transformed back into her fuku.

As quietly as she could, Pluto made her way downstairs, her staff clutched tightly in her hands and ready to attack. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the childish thought that maybe it was Santa Claus briefly crossed her mind. The thought made Pluto smile for a moment before she remembered her duties and turned serious once again.

"Who dares intrude this sacred castle?" Pluto demanded to know when she made it to the bottom of the marble staircase and saw somebody standing near her Christmas tree in the foyer. It was too dark to make out the intruder's features, but whoever it was wasn't very tall. The girl -- she was wearing what appeared to be a long nightgown, with her shoulder-length hair worn down -- couldn't have been little more than four feet. "Reveal yourself, so I may punish you to the full extent of the Time Laws."

The girl, obviously surprised by Pluto's sudden appearance, dropped the box she had been holding in her hands. There was a cringe-inducing sound of something shattering inside as the gift-wrapped package hit the floor, and the little girl cried out, dropping to her knees.

"Oh, no! Your present! It's ruined!"

Pluto relaxed her grip on her staff, recognizing the voice. She flipped on the overhead light switch on the wall beside her, then walked over to where the pink-haired princess sat crying and kneeled down beside her.

"Small Lady, what are you doing here?" Pluto asked softly, handing the girl a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "Shouldn't you be asleep already? It's Christmas Eve. Santa Claus won't come unless you're in bed."

"I snuck out after the ball," the princess confessed, sniffling. "I wanted to leave a present for you as a surprise, but…but…" Too upset to complete the sentence, she pointed over at the slightly smashed box sitting a couple of feet away from the tree.

"A gift for me? May I open it?"

Small Lady nodded.

On the outside, the gift hadn't suffered too much damage from the fall. The velvet maroon bow wrapped around it had become untied and a piece of the silver wrapping paper had torn a bit on one of the corners, but other than that, it was in relatively good condition. On the inside, however, Pluto feared to see what had happened to the gift itself. It hadn't sounded good. Reaching for the box, she pulled it toward her and carefully lifted off the lid.

"Be careful, Puu!" Small Lady warned as she began pulling out some of the tissue paper inside. "The glass broke. You might get cut."

"I'll be okay."

As Pluto worked to get to the present, she set aside some of the larger pieces of glass on a sheet of discarded tissue paper. Finally, at the very bottom of the box, she found it.

It was a hand-drawn picture of a cute little girl in a sailor suit, displayed in a heavy silver picture frame. Lifting the picture out of the package, Pluto carefully brushed the remnants of the broken glass into the box and held it up for a better look. The crayon drawing was rather crude, obviously the work of a child's hand, but Pluto could tell the artist had tried her best.

"It's me," Small Lady said needlessly, as if the drawn girl's cotton-candy pink hair twisted into the traditional royal style wasn't clue enough to guess it was a self-portrait. "Do you like it, Puu?"

"Of course I do! Did you draw this?" Pluto asked.

The princess nodded, her chest swelling in pride. "All by myself," she bragged. "Mama and Papa didn't help me at all. Well, Papa put it in the frame, and he helped me wrap it, but that's all."

"It's beautiful, Small Lady," Pluto complimented her as she reached over to give the girl a hug. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." After she pulled away from the embrace, Small Lady took the frame from Pluto's hands and went over to place the picture on the mantel of the seldom used fireplace. "Now you don't have to be alone anymore, Puu," she declared when she turned back around. "See? Even when I'm in Crystal Tokyo, you'll have this picture to keep you company. It's not as good as seeing me in person, but… Puu?"

She couldn't help it. Upon hearing the purpose behind the gift, Pluto's eyes welled up with tears, touched by the thought. Even if the method was a bit unconventional, somehow Small Lady had managed to give her the one thing she had always wanted.

"Puu? Why are you crying?" Small Lady asked, walking back over to where Pluto was still sitting on her knees. "Are you sad? I didn't mean to make you sad. I'm sorry."

After wiping away a tear, Pluto shook her head and pulled the princess into another hug. "No, I'm not sad, Small Lady," she whispered into the little girl's hair. "I'm very happy. So very, very happy, and it's all because of you. Thank you for the best Christmas present ever."

DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Merry Christmas and happy holidays!


End file.
